A glimpse of these shops on the ground floor of Shimao Skyscrape commercial and residential complex in the vicinity of the bustling high-speed railway station in Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, will give you the impression that the they are all selling products or service of the world’s most famous brands.

Impressed by these "high-end, extravagant, first-class (高端, 大气, 上档次)" shops, you may have already noticed something wrong after a second careful look at them.

Not only the products are possibly incredibly cheaper than they should be, but oh no! it is not Starbucks, but SFFCCCKS; not Apple, but Appla, not ZARA, but ZARE, not H&M, but H&N, not Hugo BOSS, but Hugo BGSS, and even the largest Chinese bank 中国工商银行 (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ICBC) has a knock-off there as 中国中商银行!

[Images via Chinanews.com]

Update Friday January 10, 2014

According to Sina reports, the stores in the so called "Shanzhai street" or "street of fakes" are actually all empty. Real estate representatives for the commercial properties told reporters that the signs were “pre-made advertising images designed to create a shopping atmosphere” and appeal to potential property buyers.

But even though, it does not mean they are legal.

"The real estate operators in charge are engaging in misleading behaviour and should stop this infringement", said Zhao Jia, a local lawyer.